title: Sudden infant death following hexavalent vaccination: a neuropathologic study.
abstract: We examined a large number of sudden infant death syndrome victims in order to point out a possible causal relationship between a previous hexavalent vaccination and the sudden infant death. We selected 110 cases submitted to in-depth histological examination of the autonomic nervous system and provided with detailed clinical and environmental information. In 13 cases (11.8%) the death occurred in temporal association with administration of the hexavalent vaccine (from 1 to 7 days). In none of these victims congenital developmental alterations of the main nervous structures regulating the vital functions were observed. Only the hypoplasia of the arcuate nucleus was present in 5 cases. In one case in particular an acquired hyperacute encephalitis of the tractus solitarii nucleus was diagnosed in the brainstem. This study does not prove a causal relationship between the hexavalent vaccination and SIDS. However, we hypothesize that vaccine components could have a direct role in sparking off a lethal outcome in vulnerable babies. In conclusion, we sustain the need that deaths occurring in a short space of time after hexavalent vaccination are appropriately investigated and submitted to a post-mortem examination particularly of the autonomic nervous system by an expert pathologist to objectively evaluate the possible causative role of the vaccine in SIDS.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Matturri
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Del Corno
authors.affiliation: "Lino Rossi" Research Center, Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, University of Milan, Italy, Via della Commenda, 19 - 20122 Milan, Italy. anna.lavezzi@unimi.it.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lavezzi
mesh_terms: D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000473:pathology; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000473:pathology; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000473:pathology; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000209:etiology*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000009:adverse effects*